Jackie Aina is a professional makeup artist and Nigerian beauty blogger from Southern California. Servicing clients and weddings throughout the Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire and San Diego areas. Also specializing in editorial, commercial and beauty makeup since 2009. Available for travel and work internationally.

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Fortunately for me, I never thought I’d have to cover a topic like this. One thing about me and makeup – as much as I love it and it’s my passion I am by NO means a makeup hoarder. I usually think long and hard before a splurge and do plenty of research on the product long before buying and I rarely impulse shop. Ever.

Most (if not all) the things in my kit I actually get full use out of which is great because girl I AIN’T TRYNA WASTE NO MONEY. Every once in a while I go get tempted try out a new product that’s been hyped or raved about. And quite frankly, no matter how much research you do, from time to time you’re still going to stumble upon a product that just WON’T work for you. Here’s my list of products that just did not cut it for me…

But with the twist! At the end of the video I talk about products that I THOUGHT I had no use for, and then I finally picked them up one day and began to love them!

So here’s the products I have that have been somewhat of a fail for me (with number 1 being the MOST epic).

(photo courtesy of maccosmetics.com)

6. MAC Selecr Sheer Loose Powder
There’s no doubt in my mind that this product probably works phenomenally. People truly do rave over this one. Except if it actually came in my shade!!! I mistakenly purchased NC45 for some odd reason and it just sits on my shelf collecting dust, hence why it’s on this list. I regret buying it because I don’t even use it in my kit!

(photo courtesy of google.com)

5. Wet & wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner
This one was a fail for me on so many levels. BUT it might also have to do with the fact that I ordered it online and perhaps during the shipping process it might have effected the product. But by the time it made it here to Kuwait, it was oil slick and greasy, not at all like what a gel liner is supposed to feel like. It felt like I was putting lip gloss on my eyelids. Not at all opaque! And I’ve had several of my readers say the same thing, so hmmm it makes me wonder if I got a bad batch or not. This was is up in the air. Either way, I wasted my money with this one.

(photo courtesy of maccosmetics.com)

4. MAC Pro Longwear Concealer
Went to the MAC store one day because I ran out of the usual Select CoverUp Concealer in NW40 that I usually use but they were SOLD OUT. I was in dire need that evening of concealer and it was the only MAC store in the vicinity so I just bought the Pro Longwear on a whim. The girl who worked there swore up and down I’d prefer this one. I took it home and hated it!!!! As a matter of fact, I used it for about a week to give it fair judgement and even still hated it. It’s super matter formula is too drying for my under-eyes. It highlights fine lines in places I didn’t even know I had fine lines lol I’ve heard of several people saying this concealer is actually amazing as a foundation and I have no doubt that it is, especially since I have combination skin. But unfortunately it’s too light for me to be used all over face. *sigh*

(photo courtesy of sirielaine.com)

3. MAC 205 Brush
Just an eyelash fan brush that sits in my brush belt looking all professional-ish. Except I barely use it! I really wanted to like this brush, but I feel the mascara wand on its own does the exact same thing and I rarely reach for it.

(photo courtesy of google.com)

2. Maybelline Baby Lips
Remember my review on this one a couple months ago? Yeah, I still feel the same. The baby lips to me were just overrated and overhyped. I have dry lips and it did nothing for me. And the pink tint? It reminds me of a hooker lol

(photo courtesy of maybelline.com)

1. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation
I’m sorry Maybelline, but really I expect SO much more from you. Maybelline is quite possibly one of my favorite drugstore brands. Not only did this foundation not work for me, but erm. Well, let me just keep it clean. It was WAY too greasy for my combination skin. And my skin is really not that oily. I didn’t care for the shade range either, the darker ones ran a bit too red for my liking when a lot of African American women are more golden. One thing I didn’t particularly care for either; I didn’t get to peep the ingredients but I noticed my skin burned a bit upon applying. The same way my skin burns after a fresh chemical peel. Yeah, so that one got tossed with the quickness. Sorry Maybelline, you know I love you and in my eyes you can do no wrong! But this one was a no-go for me!

Products that I thought were a fail but ended up being an epic #WIN

(photo courtesy of nitrolicious.com)

MAC Lustre Drops
WHY did it take me well over a year to learn how to properly use this stuff?! *Face palm* This stuff, mixed in with your favorite foundation can turn your matte finish to an instant JLO glow in seconds. The Lustre drops have a pearl finish and for dark skin (FAQ) in no way does it effect the color of the foundation itself, so don’t worry about that (as long as you don’t apply too much of course). It just makes it look more sun-kissed and dewey, without effecting the benefits of wearing a matte founation (controlling oil) It’s like the best of both worlds! In my video review I was talking about a client of mine that requested a “JLO” look, and this was exactly how I achieved it. I used MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation and put in a few squirts of Lustre Drops and I wanted to show you guys how her makeup turned out. She GLOWED that day! I also threw in a couple photos of another client wearing MAC Lustre Drops on a “forest fairy” themed photoshoot I did a few months ago.

Don’t they look amazing on both of these ladies??

(photo courtesy of covergirl.com)

Covergirl Queen Collection Bronzer
Oh the things you discover when you run out of supplies! This one was a gem in disguise. Normally I do my contouring with MAC Contour Powder in Shadowy, but when things started to get low, I finally summed up the courage to pick up my Covergirl bronzer. Never really understood the hype behind bronzers, until I actually used it. It’s amazing on dark skin! Especially in the summer when you want the benefits of adding a contour without it being too cool on your skin. It’s definitely appropriate for the season. Love these and Sam Fine highly recommends them!!!

So there’s my otherwise known as epic fail list. I hope you all enjoyed. Sorry for getting a new post out so late, love yall!

I really really love how glamorous this look feels. I think her makeup artist was phenomenal. I didn’t know this but according to a viewer of mine her makeup artist also passed away in the plane crash that took Aaliyah’s life. Today we celebrate their life, recognize their talent and may they continue to inspire for generations to come.

As announced on my YouTube channel this month I will be paying tribute to the late Aaliyah Dana Haughton by creating some of my favorite makeup looks of hers. I’m starting this series off with my absolute favorite Aaliyah song, Rock The Boat.

I chose to recreate her icy blue shadow in the scene where she’s dancing in front of a green screen with her dancers

Since I’m working tonight (thumbs down) and can’t be with my family and friends this year to celebrate I thought it would be fun to do a makeup look to celebrate. When all else fails, PAINT! This look is sultry, sexy, and epitomizes the way I like to look on my special day.

This was a look using more of my new LA Splash Cosmetics which I can’t get enough of, I may have to do some swatches of my small collection for you guys but I’d like to wait until I order more stuff from them